


Words on a Canvas of Skin

by emquin



Category: Glee
Genre: AU, F/M, Klaine, M/M, Soulmates, klaine AU, soulmate fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-17
Updated: 2013-09-17
Packaged: 2017-12-26 20:39:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/970061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emquin/pseuds/emquin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They are born with words on their hands. Everyone knows what they mean and yet Kurt doesn't know if he believes in the whole fate thing not when he has reasons for doubting, after all every example in front of him tells him there's reason to. On the other hand, Blaine yearns for when he'll finally meet his soulmate despite his past experiences and his platonic soulmate best friends. Neither however knows just what it will be like for soulmates to meet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> A few notes on setting - time wise this is set in Kurt's senior year. I wrote this back when we had just heard that Cooper was cast and that Matt Bomer was coming on glee so his characterization later on will be off but will fit the story. Other than that, this was previously posted elsewhere so if it is familiar that's why. Enjoy.

"You're lucky," Rachel said, brushing imaginary dirt off of her notebook before placing it in her locker.

Kurt tilted his head to the side. "How so?"

"Well," Rachel said, "because you haven't found your soul mate yet, you don't have to deal with all the pain that they can cause you. I mean, look at me and Finn. Maybe…maybe it's better if you're older when you find each other…then, then you won't have the follies of your youth working against you."

Kurt eyed her for a moment and didn't say anything. He wanted to agree, to say happily that he didn't mind waiting for his "one" if it meant that he didn't go through all the drama that his friends who had found their "one", but he thought the whole soul mate thing was a bit of a gamble anyway. After all, his mom and dad had been soul mates – his dad still had the faint outline of her name on his right hand – but he'd gone on to remarry years after Elizabeth Hummel's death. And Carole, Carole actually had his father's name on her hand, and Kurt thought he'd seen hers on his dad's left hand even if it wasn't as clear as his mom's name had been once.

So, if the whole soul mate thing didn't really matter all that much anyway, he didn't understand why he couldn't have what everyone else around him had. Of course, Kurt knew that being gay and living in Ohio hardly gave him the chance to go on many dates, but still he couldn't help but hope that he'd meet a boy that could at least understand him.

"What are you fighting about now?" he asked after a long moment.

Rachel shrugged at him. "Not really anything important." But the way she closed her locker with a slam told Kurt it was something important.

"Is it New York again?" Kurt asked.

After sighing, Rachel nodded. "It's my dream," she said.

"Finn knows that."

Kurt tried not to take sides when Rachel and Finn got into one of their fights because for one, having Rachel on your side actually resulted in a peaceful life and for another, Finn was his stepbrother and it would make things as awkward as they had been when he and Carole had first moved in.

Rachel gripped the book she'd taken out tighter to her chest, "sometimes I wonder if he really does. It's like he thinks that I'll choose him if…if it ever comes down to it."

"And won't you?"

"I don't…I don't know." Rachel pursed her lips.

Kurt patted her arm in comfort. "Well," he said, "you have a whole year and the summer to still figure things out."

Rachel nodded. "But see, this is what I mean. You can go anywhere without having to consider that other person. You are free to do as you wish…and when you do meet him, finally, it'd be like finally going home after all that time."

But it also meant being alone. Kurt knew he had his friends and his family, but it wasn't the same thing.

They entered the choir room and Rachel drifted away to sit next to Finn. Finn grinned at her as if they weren't arguing and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

They would have been comical, if they weren't so in love and meant to be. Finn was big, tall and lanky, while Rachel was tiny standing even shorter than Kurt.

There were other soul bonded couples in New Directions, Tina and Mike who had gotten together without knowing they were soul mates and rarely fought; Brittany and Santana who had been best friends for longer than they had been together – though no one was actually sure they were; and Sam and Quinn who made a perfect blond couple who had just recently gotten together and were still in their honeymoon phase.

Kurt took his seat next to Mercedes. Mercedes hadn't found her soul mate either, but she wanted to wait, she genuinely liked being by herself and Kurt was glad to have someone that wasn't caught up in the drama of a relationship to hang out with.

"It'll happen when it happens and if that is tomorrow or in three years, or in two months, then I'll embrace it, but, I won't go looking for him," she'd told him once, when he asked. He wished he could feel the same way.

Mr. Shuester showed up a few minutes later, looking flustered. They all knew why. He was another example of why the whole soul mate thing couldn't be trusted. He'd married his high school sweetheart, whose name had been printed clearly on his hand. But one more morning, he woke to find that his wife's name was replaced by Ms. Pillsbury's, the guidance counselor. Now, Mr. Shue was divorced and dating Ms. Pilsbury. Divorce was rare but not unheard of and most people claimed that it was fate at work still.

Puck, who proclaimed for anyone to hear that he didn't believe the whole soul mate thing was real, had said something that Kurt still thought could be true:

"Maybe it has to do with love. You meet someone you have a connection with and of course their name appears, because you liked them…the potential for love, you know…and, and the names that are there before you meet them, they're like guidelines. Like someone saying, this could be someone that you can fall in love with but even if you don't meet them or, they pass away, it's not like they're your last hope."

Kurt tuned Mr. Shuester out to listen to Mercedes talking about a scarf she'd seen at the mall.

"It was very you, Kurt," she said.

They might have been friends, and Kurt could appreciate Mercedes' unique style, but he knew that she didn't have an eye for clothes that Kurt could deem worthy of wearing.

"Unless it is the Hermes scarf I've been lusting after for the last month and a half, I don't believe I'm interested."

Mercedes rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Well, when we go to the mall on Sunday, you'll have to see it for yourself."

Rachel got up suddenly, and Kurt slumped in his seat. This wasn't going to be good.

"We knew the strengths and failings of our competition last year," Rachel said, "and this year should be no different. So, I propose that we invite them and have a friendly competition." She clapped her hands, "who's with me?"

Finn stood up at once. "Yeah," he said, "we should totally invite them and see what they got."

"And of course," Rachel added, "show them what a real glee club should sound like."

Mr. Shue stepped forward. "I don't think," he began.

Rachel interrupted him, "we won't try to sabotage them or anything, Mr. Shuester. And this way, we won't have to send in a spy."

"Okay. Yes, fine, we can extend an invitation to—" he glanced down at the piece of paper he held, "—the Warblers and the Hipsters."

After the meeting, Kurt left with Mercedes.

"Do you think it's a good idea?" she asked, "this whole meeting the competition thing? I mean, it didn't really work out for us last year, did it?"

Kurt shrugged. "That was all Sue's doing and you know it. It could be interesting, I guess. I'm particularly looking forward to all these boys from Dalton." He and Mercedes shared a grin and Kurt added, "and, you know, Rachel's particular brand of crazy will be entertaining to witness."

"Always just like a train wreck…"

They stopped at his locker and Kurt got a book and notebook out. He was just turning to say something to Mercedes, when he was knocked into his locker. Dave Karofsky just smirked at him and kept on walking.

Kurt fixed his hair and shook his head. "Neanderthal," he muttered.

"You okay, Kurt?" Mercedes asked.

Kurt nodded. "Not like I'm not used to it."

She smiled sadly. "Now, he's someone that needs to find their mate," she said, "you know he'd be calmer if he ever did."

Kurt closed his locker and they continued on towards their English classroom, arms linked, and Kurt trying to ignore the sting on his shoulder which told him a bruise was already forming.

He'd been bullied for as long as he could remember, even before he'd admitted to anyone that he was gay. Bruises were something he was used to, but he still hated seeing his skin marred by the green and purple tints of a bruise.

* * *

Blaine Anderson was a romantic. He couldn't wait until he met his soul mate, because he knew that when he did, it would be magical, the greatest love that ever was. His best friends, Wes and David, laughed at him and told him often that it wasn't just going to work out that way.

Wes and David were soul bonded, but there weren't actually together which confused a lot of the girls they dated. They had known each other since the age of five, and had been attached at the hip since. Truth be told, they did love each other, but neither were interested in boys. Or so they both said, Blaine liked to believe otherwise.

"It's like me and Wes," David told Blaine, "we're heterosexual life partners and that is all we'll ever be, but that does not diminish that we are meant to be."

"It's about finding a person that can fit in your life," Wes added, "not necessarily romantic."

Blaine had wanted to argue, because despite everything they said, Wes and David might as well have been dating. He'd never met any other friends that set aside Tuesday nights for cuddling. Still, he let them go on with what they believed, watching as they dated girls in a not so serious manner, each of them lasting a week at most. Because hanging over every one of those relationships was the idea that those girls had their own mates out there somewhere.

So, despite the contradicting example right in front of him, Blaine wanted to believe that the slanted name written out along the palm of his right hand, just going into his thumb, was the name of the one and only person that he could ever truly love.

Wes and David were sprawled out on his bed, leaning into each other while Blaine sat at his desk.

"So, what did you two want anyway?" he asked and motioned towards the desk, "I have a paper due tomorrow."

"Seriously, tell Thad to help you out, you'll be done in no time," David said.

Wes nodded. "True story."

"He already got me all the books I need. But what is it?"

Wes lifted his head from David's shoulder. "We were hanging out with Nick and Jeff when I got a call down to the main office. Apparently Ms. Flitch had gotten an e-mail from a Will Shuester."

"Okay. And?"

David reached into the pocket of Wes' pants and pulled out a folded piece of paper, which he extended towards Blaine.

Blaine had to get up to get it, but did so without complaint, unfolding it. His eyes scanned the paper.

"So, what, they want us to perform for them and for them to do the same for us?"

Wes nodded. "And we don't really know what we should do. I mean, it sounds like it could give us some advantage, but at the same time, it means we're letting them see what we can do early too."

"Where's Thad?" Blaine asked, rather than try and give them his opinion, "I'd think you guys would go to him about this considering he's on the council."

David rolled his eyes. "If the answer isn't in a book…"

"That's not true and you know it. Now, stop bothering me and go ask Thad what he thinks."

Wes shook his head, "first, what do you think we should do?"

They both sat up and David straightened the collar of Wes' shirt.

"I think that it'd be different to see our competition like this before sectionals and that we don't have to show them our best. Now, I'd appreciate it, if I could get back to my homework."

"But your bed is so comfortable," Wes said and let himself fall back onto it.

Blaine glared at him. "Fine, stay, just…just let me work on this paper."

When Blaine turned back to his desk and to his laptop, he heard Wes and David settle back down on his bed. He couldn't help but feel strange as he tried to work on the paper, knowing they were just behind him. It took them under five minutes to start talking, ruining any sort of concentration that Blaine had managed to achieve.

"You know what," he told them, "this isn't going to work. It's just weird, and I'll have you know that we all have the same beds and you have two very good ones in the room across the hall."

In general if two boys had somehow managed to be soul mates, administration wouldn't have let them be roommates, but somehow Wes and David had managed to convince someone that they needed to room together. It helped that they weren't actually in a relationship. Nick and Jeff who were also bonded and were in a romantic relationship, didn't share a room, but often slept in each other's room anyway.

"Fine," David said, "only because I know if you get this done tonight, we can do something awesome tomorrow."

"Like prepare to face New Directions," Wes added with a nod. "See you at dinner."

Blaine merely grunted and returned to his essay once more, but found that the concentration he'd had before was gone. He groaned. Seeing Wes and David act like such a couple always left him strange, jealous and longing for the day when he'd finally have someone like that for his own.

He opened one of the books Thad had handed him the night before and flipped through the table of contents for a while, but couldn't keep his eyes from looking at his hand and at the name. Somewhere in the world that boy could be looking down at a hand that had his name on it. And someday they'd meet and…well, Blaine didn't know what would happen, but he knew that he'd finally feel complete.

* * *

Kurt eyed the scarf that Mercedes had just handed him. It wasn't too horrible, even the material, something that wasn't a 100% cotton but still remained soft enough to maybe pass for 80%. And it was checkered purple, orange, and red, which worked well for some reason.

"So…" Mercedes said.

"Oh, fine. I'll take it."

Mercedes grinned triumphantly.

"But only," Kurt added, "because it'll go well with an outfit I've been trying to put together."

Mercedes rolled her eyes, "whatever you say, white boy."

He picked up a few more items that could spruce up other outfits and walked up to pay for them while Mercedes browsed around. He was too busy trying to decide if he did need another polka dotted bow tie as the cashier scanned the scarf, to notice that Mercedes had disappeared. But he did notice, once he'd handed the bow tie to the cashier and turned to find his best friend.

"Did you see where she went?" he asked the cashier, whose name tag read Linda.

Linda pointed towards the glass doors, but Mercedes was nowhere to be seen. Kurt handed Linda his debit card and waited while she charged everything and handed him a slip to sign. He did so quickly and grabbed his two bags.

"Thank you," he called back at Linda.

Mercedes wasn't just outside the store as Kurt had expected. He couldn't see her anywhere. He walked towards a bench and sat down before pulling out his phone to call her. She didn't answer. He tried again. Nothing. So, then, he texted her.

_Where did you disappear to?_

When he didn't receive a response within five minutes, he began to worry. Mercedes was never too far from her phone. He waited a while longer, but stood up and took his bags, headed for his car so he could at least drop that off before he went looking for Mercedes. For a moment he considered calling Rachel to help, but remembered she and Finn were out on a date and didn't want to be bothered unless it was truly necessary.

After fifteen minutes of searching, going to their favorite stores, Kurt saw her. She was sitting with a boy on one of the wooden benches and from where he was standing he could see they were holding hands. A mixture of feelings rose up. He was happy for her, but at the same time he felt jealousy. Why couldn't he just run into his mate like that? He rubbed at the hand on his hand, where could that boy be?

He pulled out his phone again:

_I'm going to assume you can get your own ride home. I'm happy for you. Have fun. Tell me all the deets later._

Then he headed towards the parking lot with his bags. It was strange to think that Mercedes had just met that boy fifteen minutes ago and she was already so into him that she couldn't even answer her phone. It astounded Kurt. It wasn't always like that, he knew. Rachel and Finn had danced around each other for weeks until Rachel finally made a move. Kurt guessed it all really depended on the person.

When he got home, it was to find his dad watching TV in the living room.

"Hey, kiddo, thought you'd be home later, what happened?"

Kurt dropped his bags next to the door as he removed his jacket. "Mercedes found her mate," he said, "one minute she was behind me, next thing I know she's gone. Took me forever to find her and she was just sitting with this guy and so I figured I shouldn't bother her."

His father knew him better than to just leave it at that. "How are you feeling?"

Kurt sighed and walked around the couch to sit down next to his dad. "I don't know. I just, I know he's out there somewhere and Rachel says it could be good for me to not meet him yet, but I just…most of my friends are mated and I'm just a fifth wheel whenever we go out anymore."

His dad placed his hand on Kurt's knee. "It's your senior year, Kurt, next year you'll be in New York around new people in a city full of people like you and you'll not only fit in, but I'm almost sure that you'll find him and if not him then someone just as good. You know I don't really believe in all of this. Your mom meant the world to me and I will never stop loving her, and Carole is the most amazing woman I've ever met…love isn't easy, and it's not as straight forward as some name pre-written on your hand.

Kurt nodded. He knew all of this. He ran a thumb over the name that was written along his thumb.

"I should go put my things away," he muttered, getting up.

"I hope you didn't but out the whole store."

Kurt shook his head and before he left, his bags back in his arms, "thank you, dad."

He dared to glance at his hand once he was up in his room. The name Blaine Anderson ran towards his thumb carefully written, with sharp letters. Kurt liked to trace the letters and wonder if that name would be the only one he would ever have.

* * *

Blaine dropped into the seat across from Wes with his dinner which consisted of a chicken sandwich. The two boys were holding hands, as they sometimes did, while they ate. Blaine hated how casual they were about it. Their fingers were laced together and sometimes when one tried to pull away the other wouldn't let him. Blaine could see Wes' name on David's hand. It went around his index finger.

"Have you decided on a set list for this thing with the New Directions?" Blaine asked.

"Teenage Dream is going to be a must," David said, "it sounded amazing the other day at practice. And then, I don't know what else, but we should have two or three songs prepared."

Blaine bit into his sandwich. Earlier he'd looked up the New Directions on youtube to see if there were any performances uploaded there, but all he'd been pointed towards was grainy videos of a girl of about sixteen or seventeen who had an amazing voice. In the info section she'd put that she was the president of her Glee club the New Directions. But no group performances had been uploaded by other students, or even proud parents.

"I looked them up," Wes said, "they're apparently really good. They got up to regionals last year but they went against Vocal Adrenaline and lost."

Vocal Adrenaline was a sore subject to Wes and David. Last year before Blaine had transferred, they'd lost sectionals to them. Wes and David hated them and Jesse St. James who had been their soloist.

"So they're probably at our level," David continued on, "I think they went against that school for the deaf for their sectionals so…"

Blaine nodded and continued eating.

After dinner, Wes and David insisted that Blaine join them for a movie. Sometimes Blaine thought that they only asked him to hang out this way because they didn't want it to really be like a date. Still, Wes and David always sat really close together, cuddled up, their hands intertwined. But they never made Blaine feel like a third wheel. It was one of the reasons he loved his friends.

They were watching Star Trek which Blaine couldn't object because not only was it a flawless movie, but it also starred Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto and a combination of all those things made Blaine not even care that David had his head tucked into Wes' shoulder.

When the movie was over, Blaine excused himself by telling the two boys he still had homework to work on. Wes tried to protest, but Blaine left before he could.

At Dalton there weren't that many bonded couples, but that might have had something to do with it being an all-boy's school. It was still Ohio and although everyone made jokes that it was "gay Hogwarts" Blaine was only one of a handful of boys that considered themselves gay.

Blaine had been lucky to not have to take a roommate but that was only because he'd started late into the school year the year before and no one had been assigned to be his roommate when the school year began. His room still had an extra bed and desk and Blaine tried not to use the side of the room that wasn't technically his just in case someone did transfer in as he had done. Wes and David thought he was crazy and that he should just take advantage of it all.

His phone rang as Blaine was putting the books he'd need the next day into his bag and he grabbed it at once, grinning when his brother's warm smile greeted him on the screen.

"Hey, Coop," he said.

Cooper was about six years older than Blaine and he was Blaine's favorite person in the world and had been since Blaine was a child and he realized that his parents were never going to understand him.

In a world where your soul mate's name was already written on your hand by the time you were five years old, there was no reason for someone to come out of the closet, and his parents couldn't deny that Blaine was gay when they realized the name on his hand wasn't a girl's name. His dad had still tried to change it, to make Blaine get it surgically removed and have another name inked on. They did that, and Blaine had heard of other parents that had made kids go through that.

Cooper hadn't let it happen.

He'd hidden Blaine away and then at only twelve years old, he hadn't let his dad near his little brother.

"You're not god!" he'd yelled, "you're not all powerful and all knowing and you can't take his fate away."

Ever since that moment Blaine had known that Cooper was the only family member that really truly cared about him. His mother hadn't tried to put a stop to it despite all her talk about fate and love.

"Hey, B, how are you?"

Cooper sounded happy, as he always did. But there was something more in his voice.

"Good. You? What happened?"

Through the phone he heard someone moving. Cooper wasn't alone.

"Coop, who's there?"

Cooper sighed and then, "I met her."

"Are you kidding? Oh my god, really?"

Cooped laughed. "I know, it's kind of unexpected but it happens like that sometimes and I'm just so happy and it happened this morning and I just – I wanted to tell you because you're my brother and I just – Blaine I'm so happy."

That was what Blaine wanted. He wanted to be so in love and happy to find that one person that would be his and just his alone.

"Well, I'm glad you found her. I want to meet her. But go on, go be with her. I can talk to you later."

"Sure. We're set something up, alright? And Blaine, your Kurt is out there. He's somewhere and when the time is right you'll meet and everything will change."

Blaine glanced down at his hand. Kurt Hummel's handwriting was kind of loopy, but perfect, and someday he would hold his hand and see his own name in his own horrible scribbles on Kurt's hand.


	2. Part Two

The day that the Warblers were going to perform for them, Kurt woke up with a small crick on his right hand as if he'd slept it on it or something. He thought nothing of it and simply circled his wrist until he felt a bit better before he walked into his bathroom and began his morning routine.

Finn who he luckily didn't share a room with anymore was still in bed by the time Kurt was headed out of his room towards the kitchen, so as was customary, he threw Finn's door open and let the light from the hallway just filter in. Finn groaned.

"Better get up soon unless you're planning on walking," Kurt called.

Finn usually drove himself to school, but he'd done something to his car earlier in the week that Kurt's dad still hadn't gotten around to fix at the shop because he had actual paying customers to worry about, and so Kurt had been giving him rides to school ever since. It sucked having to wait for Finn to either finish saying goodbye to Rachel after school if Finn didn't have some sort of practice and he was leaving the school around the same time as Kurt. Kurt couldn't understand why Rachel couldn't pick him up in her brand new car.

His step brother grumbled something and Kurt walked down the stairs cheerily. He was looking forward to seeing the Warblers. The Hipsters had declined on account of half the members not being able to drive on their own and the lack of organized transportation. But Kurt wasn't worried about them. The Warblers though were their real competition. But more than just seeing their competition, Kurt was excited because he'd been given a solo.

He peeled an apple and cut it into slices as he put the coffee machine on with enough coffee for he and his dad – the one cup that his dad was allowed – and then cut a plain bagel and pug it into the toaster. He ate his apple while he waited for the bagel to be ready.

Finn and his dad didn't appear downstairs until Kurt was halfway through his bagel.

"Ten minutes, Finn Hudson," Kurt threw out when he was done.

Kurt liked arriving at school early enough to bypass all the jocks that might still want to throw him in the dumpster and really there were only a few at this point, or get there late enough that they were already in class. Finn grunted.

"We'll work on your car this weekend, kid," Burt said.

Kurt grabbed his things exactly ten minutes later and walked out to his car. He gave Finn an additional two minutes to get out to the car and picked a song on his ipod for the drive over.

Finn was quiet on their way there, but then that was the usual for the morning when Finn was still half asleep.

The day went on as usual and Kurt spent most of his classes bored out of his mind and trying not to look at the lovey dovey couples that sat together and held hands or made eyes at eat other when the teacher wasn't looking. By the time the day came to an end, Kurt was more tired than usual at all the displays of affection around him. It had turned out that the boy Mercedes met at the mall actually went to McKinley and Mercedes had done what she had always said she never would do and started spending all her time with him.

Kurt didn't blame her. He was her soul mate and everything. But Kurt was her friend and he hadn't even met him yet. He also couldn't help but feel a little down at not having her to talk to anymore.

When he got to the choir room, Rachel was already in the front ranting about something and he sighed, rolling his eyes. No one as usual was paying her any attention. Mr. Shuester wasn't even in the room yet.

He sat down between Mercedes and Puck. Mercedes was busy texting and barely lifted her head to say hello to him. Puck leaned towards him.

"An all boy's choir, Hummel, you excited. Bound to be a gay one there for you."

Kurt blanched. He should have been used to Puck by now, especially since when Rachel wasn't around at home it was probable that Puck would be.

"Come on, you don't believe in all that soul mate stuff, I know you don't. I certainly don't."

"I'm aware," Kurt said.

Puck owned his own pool cleaning business and after an encounter with a bored older woman, his business had become more than just about cleaning pools and Kurt knew that some of the girls in their school had slept with him too, Santana and Brittany included. Kurt didn't know how he did it because sex was supposed to be the ultimate thing to give to the person whose name you wore. Still, more and more people strayed away from that and just did it with the currently available person.

"Stop being such a prude," Puck said and nudged him. Kurt regretted sitting next to him.

Mr. Shue explained that the Warblers would arrive within half an hour as their school was two hours away, and Rachel immediately broke in to tell them they should practice.

Kurt reluctantly let her pull him towards the front.

* * *

Blaine sat with Thad whose nose was buried in a book in the backseat of Wes' car. David rode shotgun and Blaine couldn't help but notice that Wes and David were holding hands. They'd been closer lately if that was possible.

Thad was the only person that Thad had ever met that didn't care about their soul mate, though he did have one. He was just unbothered by it. He didn't seem to care if he'd met the person or not – though he'd meet them some time, there was no way of getting out of that – more worried about his books than anything else.

"I'm not asexual," he'd told Blaine once, "I just don't think all my hopes and dreams have to be placed on one person. They won't be perfect. I'm not perfect. I'm obsessed with books. And whoever it'll be, they'll have to deal with that – it's who I am."

Blaine liked to think that the person you were meant for was supposed to love all your flaws, or most of them. They were supposed to think they were adorable and cute. They weren't supposed to annoy them, not really. He hadn't told Thad as much. And really, Thad could make up his own mind about the whole thing.

The other warblers were carpooling in two other cars and everyone had fit comfortably. Because Dalton was a private school and their clubs were student run with the occasional visit from a teacher to make sure they weren't doing something like dealing drugs – as had happened a few years back, or so Blaine had heard, with the chess club – they were also responsible for their own transportation. It was lucky that so many of them were upper classmen and had their licenses. For competitions and such the school paid for a bus, but for something unofficial like this they drove on their own.

Lima was two hours away, but the New Directions had insisted that they use McKinley and Wes had relented because being a private school and a boarding school, they didn't want to disrupt the other students with the kids from the other school.

They arrived some ten or fifteen minutes late because of traffic and Wes' need to follow the speed limit exactly. McKinley was a big school, and it was just like any other public high school. Blaine didn't like thinking about the last time he'd gone to a public high school.

They got out of the car and once everyone was there – Wes actually counted – they headed inside.

The school was like any public school. Lockers lined the walls and when there weren't lockers, instead there were flyers.

"We're supposed to find the auditorium," David said.

"Why aren't there any signs?"

They had been walking down the same hall for a while before a rather short girl appeared, her hand attached to a boy that towered over her.

"Warblers!" the girl cried.

Blaine recognized her, then, as Rachel Berry.

"Welcome," she continued, "the auditorium is right this way. Finn and I will show you. We are the captains of New Directions and it's lovely to meet you."

Without any more preamble she walked with Finn who remained silent and they followed.

They were bonded, Blaine realized, watching them walk with their hands together, and they had probably been together for a long time. They felt like Wes and David. Most kids their age when they were just mated were more touchy feely, they couldn't fit anyone else in their bubble. Blaine still saw it sometimes when he looked at Nick and Jeff.

The rest of New Directions were already in the auditorium but not on stage when they entered. They all looked a little strange, like kids that shouldn't stick together. Three cheerleaders sat together with a blond boy in the nearest row and in a row lower were two Asian kids talking to a boy in a wheelchair who was in the aisle. A pale boy who looked back at them in interest sat by himself after the mohawked boy who'd sat next to him had gotten up to stand by Finn.

A teacher appeared then. Their director, no doubt. He introduced himself and Wes shook his hand.

"Would you like to go first?" He asked.

Wes shrugged. "We don't mind either way."

They ended up going first, doing only Teenage Dream although they'd prepared three songs.

New Directions sat up front, taking up the first two rows and once Blaine saw him up close, he couldn't keep his eyes off of the boy he'd seen sitting on his own. He was beautiful. If Blaine had been able to choose who his soul mate would be, he would have chosen that boy. And once he was up on the stage and he took the first few lines of their song before Rachel began to sing, Blaine began to wonder if he wasn't his soul mate.

No one had ever told him what meeting their soul mate was like. Wes and David had met at the age of five in preschool. And Nick and Jeff had been best friends for a long time too and decided to wait before taken the step into a romantic relationship so they didn't count. Blaine's parents never spoke of their meeting. At least they hadn't with him. His brother still hadn't gotten back to him about Emma yet so he wasn't a source, but was it supposed to be like love at first sight?

Blaine didn't know how he got through the song or how he had gotten down to take a seat, or how he didn't just jump onto the stage to demand that the boy show him his hand.

He clapped when the song was over and when Rachel was talking again about something he tuned out, he tried to catch the other boy's eye.

"What's wrong with you?" Wes hissed.

"The boy, the one that sang first…I need to know his name."

The New Directions got off the stage and their director who had sat with them was speaking. Blaine followed the boy with his eyes. He had to at least say something to him even if he never found out his name.

David leaned towards them. "What's going on?"

"I think Blaine's seen something he likes," Wes said and grinned.

* * *

"You were really good," Rachel said, "I've never tried a cappella quite like that myself, but I'm more of a Broadway girl. You really are our only real competition."

The soloist of the Warblers stared at her. "Um," he said and then looked towards his friend for help.

Kurt tried to nudge Finn in Rachel's direction, but he shook his head. Kurt honestly didn't understand how Finn and Rachel's relationship worked when Finn was still so scared of Rachel. He headed over there himself.

"Rachel, come on, don't scare the other team." He grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Oh," she said.

The other boy stared at him. "Hi," he said, "you…you were amazing up there. Your voice is – it blew me away.

Kurt for a moment didn't know how to respond.

"He's a countertenor," Rachel said brightly, "which is something your group is lacking, I see. If you had one, I'd be a little more worried. As it is though, you're some right good competition. Much better than last year."

Kurt shrugged at the other boy. There really was no way of stopping Rachel from talking. He rolled his eyes at Kurt and he couldn't help but smile a little. Part of him was glad for Rachel being there because he didn't know what he could have said to him otherwise. Instead he got a chance to really look at him.

He had honey colored eyes. They were warm and bright. His smile was infectious. His hair, upon looking at it closer, had more gel than Kurt had first assumed was on it.

"Countertenor, wow," the boy said when Rachel finally let him get a word in. He was looking at Kurt though, "that's impressive."

"It is, isn't it?" Rachel asked, "so who did you go against last year?"

The boy took a moment to respond, "oh, um…I wasn't at Dalton last year. I didn't transfer until halfway through the year, so it was after Sectionals. But, um, you can ask Wes all about it. They despise the team they lost to."

"Oh," Rachel said, but she didn't go and talk to Wes and David who had started a conversation up with Artie and Sam. "But that's really impressive of you then, that you're their soloist. Coming in just last year after all."

He shrugged.

At that point another Warbler appeared. He grinned at them and threw an arm around the soloist's shoulders.

"Hey, Nick and I are gonna head out. We're taking Trent and Thad with us so everyone should be matched up."

"Oh," he said and then turned to hug his friend, "have fun tonight."

The other boy turned back to the three other boys that were leaving and he said goodbye to a few others and then they were gone. Other boys, seeing the option of leaving started to get up as well until only the two boys that were now talking to Mr. Shuester and the soloist remained and Kurt had to wonder why he hadn't gone in an attempt to escape Rachel.

"Oh, your friends are leaving," Rachel said suddenly, "do you…"

"No," he said at once.

Kurt almost jumped in surprise and Rachel looked taken aback too. The two other remaining boys in the Dalton uniform laughed. One nudged the other and they both stood up.

"Right," Wes said, "it might be best if we left as well, then?"

He shook his head.

"Ask him," David instructed.

Kurt watched them. He didn't understand. But someone Rachel got it and she gasped. Then she was apologizing. "I'm sorry," she said, "so sorry."

"What?"

The hazel eyed boy took a deep breath and then he asked the one question Kurt hadn't expected.

"Is your name Kurt Hummel?"

Rachel was nodding. She was jumping up and down and nodding.

"Yes," he said and after he said it, he didn't know how he'd even managed to speak because this boy in front of him couldn't be Blaine Anderson. He just couldn't be.

There was absolutely no way that he was meant to be Kurt's. It had to be a joke or some misunderstanding. He was meant for another Kurt Hummel. Some boy without his high voice and with nicer hair or something else that made him just perfect for someone like the boy standing in front of him.

"Oh, god, I – wow," Blaine said.

Kurt stared at him and then, because it was customary and he had to ask, "Blaine Anderson?"

Rachel didn't let them say anything else after Blaine nodded with a giant smile. Instead she grabbed their hands and pulled them out of the auditorium and then she took them into an empty classroom.

"Talk," she said addressing them both and then to Kurt, "ignore what I told you last week, Kurt, this is a good thing."

Then she turned on her heel and closed the door behind her. Kurt stared at the door for a moment and then he looked at Blaine and then he looked down at the floor.

"So, I guess I should show you my hand," Kurt said.

"How it usually works, isn't it?" Blaine asked and he walked closer. "Can I?"

Blaine's hand hovered over Kurt's until Kurt nodded. When their skin made contact, Kurt felt something like a tingle go over him. Blaine's fingers gently touched the script of his own name.

Kurt gasped.

"It's there," Blaine said in awe, "it's crazy, isn't it? One day you just go along not expecting anything and then, there you were."

Kurt turned his hand. Blaine had beautiful hands. They looked strong. His fingers had calluses, but they weren't too prominent. His nails were, cut and symmetrical. The only thing that marred this perfect hand was Kurt's name. But it was definitely his and that was definitely his handwriting.

"I've always liked your handwriting," Blaine admitted, "I thought someone with handwriting like yours had to be beautiful and here you are."

It was hard for Kurt to wrap his mind around what had just happened. There had always been the expectation that someday it would happen, but that someday was not supposed to be this day. Maybe it was just that Kurt wasn't a fan of surprises, or that a part of him had always just expected that it wouldn't happen until he got to New York. Or maybe, it was that Blaine seemed to be much too good to be true.

"You don't know me," he said.

Blaine's brows furrowed. "What?" he asked.

"Oh, god," Kurt said, "no…I just…Blaine, you seem like a lovely person and there's obviously something between us."

"But," Blaine interjected. He cocked his head to the side but instead of looking annoyed or unhappy he looked curious. Amused.

"But we're complete strangers. And I know the whole soul mate thing pretty much dictates that I – I don't know – bare my neck to you seductively on the nearest surface or whatever and that we then go on with our lives completely changed towards a happily ever after where knowing that we're soul mates is enough to keep us together, but shouldn't I know the person that at the age of seventeen I'm supposed to just accept as the person that I'll be with for the rest of my life if fate allows?"

Blaine looked taken aback and Kurt wanted to pat himself in the back, because this was who he was. He questioned things, he tried not to just follow the flock and Blaine needed to be someone that accepted that and even went as far as to like that about him.

He was surprised, then, when Blaine just grinned and took both of his hands. Kurt wasn't ashamed of admitting that it made his skin tingle and that he never wanted to let go.

"I like you," Blaine said, "the you that I see in front of me, the you that I can see so far and we have years to get to know each other to the very last detail and I want to know everything. Everything, Kurt."

Kurt began to smile. "Okay."

He was fiery. He had passion. He was stubborn.

Blaine couldn't take his eyes off his mate, off Kurt. Their hands were still twined together and their knees brushed against each other. Lack of contact wasn't an option. He wouldn't be able to stand it if he wasn't touching Kurt.

"So, can I take you out on a date?"

Kurt nodded and smiled, he averted his eyes looking at the floor again. He was adorable, too.

"Oh, come here," Blaine said and without much else as warning had pulled Kurt against him.

Kurt was tense for a moment and then he relaxed. Kurt was taller than Blaine by a few inches and although Blaine had always said he wanted to be the taller one, somehow it didn't bother him with Kurt. He even liked it. Already he was imagining how cuddling with Kurt would be. He could be the little spoon, or he could lay his head on Kurt's shoulder, hide in the crook of his neck. Blaine even thought that the possibility of having to crane his neck upwards to kiss him was something to look forward to. And was he looking forward to kissing!

He smelled good too and his arms were strong and muscular around him. These were the arms that would hold him for the rest of their lives. He wanted to stay in them forever.

Kurt pulled away first, but he grabbed Blaine's hands of his own accord.

"Do you…do you want to go somewhere?" He asked and he looked cautious as if he were waiting for Blaine to say no.

Blaine nodded at once. "Yes. Anywhere. With you, anywhere."

Kurt shook his head, but he was smiling. "You're going to be cheesy about everything, aren't you?"

"Maybe?"

Kurt nodded to himself. "Okay, I should call my dad to let him know I'm going out and that I, well, that I met you. Do you need to tell anyone?"

"The wonder of boarding school is my parents don't even know where I am right now," Blaine said.

"Oh. Well, um, just give me a few minutes?"

Blaine nodded and reluctantly let go of Kurt's hands. They felt empty almost at once. He couldn't believe how quickly he was getting attached. No one had told him it was like this. Suddenly he regretted every teasing joke he'd made about Wes and David.

Kurt had walked to the other side of the room and his phone was already at his ear. Blaine pulled out his own. He knew the only person that might care about it all would be Cooper, but he didn't call his brother. It was funny, though, that they would find their soul mates the same week.

Blaine sent a quick text and put his phone away. Instead he watched Kurt. He tried not to listen in on his conversation, but he caught a few words. The phone call was quick and then Kurt was walking back to him.

"Do you like coffee?" He asked.

"Good. I can't live without my daily dose. I know the perfect place. They have the best atmosphere for us to talk. Come on."

Kurt extended his arm towards him and Blaine grabbed his hand at once, glad to know that he wasn't the only one that seemed to need to be in contact with him all the time.

Most of New Directions and Wes and David were out in the hallway. They stood a little ways away so Blaine was sure that they probably hadn't been listening in, but he still couldn't help but feel his face get warmer. He didn't need to glance at Kurt to know that he was in the same state.

"Oh, they're holding hands! Look, Finn!"

There were other comments, but Blaine only heard Rachel.

Kurt muttered, "sorry, they're a little crazy." To Finn he said louder, "can you catch a ride with Rachel?"

Rachel nodded an affirmative for Finn. "Just go on," she said, "and have fun."

Wes and David smirked at him and wiggled their eyebrows at him. "Do you want us to stick around Blaine?" Wes asked.

"No, go ahead. I know it's your cuddle night."

David shot him a glare.

Wes shook his head.

"We don't talk about cuddle nights in public. Especially not in front of other glee clubs."

Blaine rolled his eyes but didn't comment. Instead he let Kurt pull him past his friends without another word down the hall and out onto the parking lot.

It wasn't until they were on the road on the way to their date, hands still connected that Blaine realized that Wes and David had been his ride there. But nothing matter when he had Kurt next to him. Getting back to Dalton would be a worry for later. For now all he needed was to focus on Kurt and Kurt alone.

He'd found his mate. He's actually found Kurt Hummel and he was perfect for him. And they were going on a date, too. In a few hours he would know more than he had that morning about his soul mate, and now he had a face to place to the name too. Blaine didn't know if he could be happier than he was then.


	3. Part Three

The Lima Bean was Blaine's favorite coffee place. It wasn't as close to Dalton as he would have liked, but it was worth going there when he really needed to rather than the Starbucks that was closer to campus. He was pleasantly surprised when Kurt drove them there.

"I love this place," he said before he could stop himself, "I don't come often, but some weekends I drag Wes and David. They don't really drink coffee, but they also don't go on dates by themselves so they secretly like it."

Kurt listened to him, and made a questioning face at the mention of Wes and David.

"They're bonded," Blaine said, "but they say it's just platonic because neither of them considers themselves the least bit gay."

"Oh," Kurt said.

Blaine opened the door and held it for Kurt to enter first.

"I've never heard of that. I've never wondered about that, to be honest. What do you do if you're not gay but your soul mate is a guy? Hmm. How do they deal with it?"

Blaine regretted mentioning Wes and David. It was great to be having a conversation with Kurt at all – he would have never expected to find his soul mate so young – but he wanted to get to know Kurt better. That was the point of their date.

"They cuddle and hold hands and they are sometimes more attached at the hip than Nick and Jeff who are also bonded and they go on dates with girls from our sister school and I guess the girls don't mind that Wes and David tend to pay more attention to each other. But they've known each other since preschool and they've known they are soul mates since around the same time when their names appeared. They're kind of an anomaly."

Kurt nodded, but he didn't say anything else.

There was a short line towards the counter and they got on it. The Lima Bean was actually the perfect place to take someone for a get to know each other date. It didn't give you the impression that you needed to act a certain way, it left things rather open and easy and yet it also wasn't somewhere too loose.

When they got to the front of the line, Kurt ordered a non fat mocha. Blaine filed the information away while Kurt said something else to the barista.

"Medium drip," he said when prompted.

They walked to sit down after they'd gotten their coffee and Blaine had added cinnamon to his.

"I know something about you now," Blaine said.

"Yes?"

"You drink non fat mochas."

Kurt smiled at him and Blaine grinned back.

Kurt had ordered them assorted cookies, biscotti, and other treats and he had set down between them.

"I wasn't sure what you'd like," he explained, "but a bit of everything is nice anyway."

"It's perfect," Blaine said and then added, "this place is perfect for this."

"I thought so."

They sat in silence for a little while. Blaine stirred his coffee and then brought out the stirrer and due to habit just stuck it in his mouth and licked it off. He paused when he realized Kurt was staring at him.

"Interesting," Kurt said.

Blaine felt his face heat up. He dropped the stirrer on the table. "So, tell me about yourself, Kurt Hummel, let me know you."

"Okay. Well, I'm seventeen. I live with my dad and stepmom. The really tall guy in glee is my stepbrother Finn. Our parents met a little less than a year ago and things happened just really quickly and within like not even a few months they were moving in with us and then about a month ago they got married and we moved to a new house so Finn and I didn't have to share anymore."

Blaine was hit with how weird the story actually was. "What happened to their soul mates? Your mom? Finn's dad?"

"They're dead," Kurt said, "my mom died when I was eight years old. Cancer. And Finn's dad was a soldier."

There were stories of course about what happened to someone that lost their soul mate. They just never recovered from it, but they kept on living on their own or with the children left behind. But some took their own lives from the pain and grief.

"When my mom died," Kurt said and gulped, "my dad was really distraught. He was a mess. But he kept it together for me because that was my mom and not just his wife. And together we dealt with the pain. Over the years her name began to fade and by now you can barely see it.

"My dad met Carole last year at a school thing and they became friends and went out on a few dates and he was happy again and it was great. But it didn't take long for Carole to tell my dad that his name had slowly started appearing on her hand. She doesn't talk much about her first husband but she said his name has been gone a long time. And I don't know when it happened. I've only just noticed it, but her name is appearing on my dad's hand. It's faint and just more visible than my mom's, but it's there."

Blaine didn't know what to make of what Kurt was telling him. He didn't understand the point. He'd never heard of anything like this, but then he'd never gone out looking for the information. It was always just taught and believed that only one person was meant for you.

Kurt reached across the table and took his hand. His thumb ran over his own name. "Blaine, you make me feel like I've never felt before and I guess I understand what the whole big deal is now, but that said, I don't hold a steadfast belief for this whole name soul mate thing. That's why I'm telling you this, because I don't want us to be about fate. I want it to be more than that. I want you to love me for me and not because you have to follow the conventions of our society…and if you don't feel that way about me then that's okay too."

"I will!" Blaine said at once.

Kurt laughed. "Okay," he said, "but you still don't know me."

"What I know is that you're amazing and opinionated, and that you're going to hold onto what you believe in, and that you must have a love for clothes. I know how you like your coffee, I know that the peanut butter cookies are your favorite, and I know that you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, and that the blush covering your cheeks right now is absolutely precious."

Kurt ducked his head.

"It's not much to go on, but I love all of that already and, Kurt, I can't wait to know everything about you. This isn't about you being my soul mate even though it is because you are, because I don't think for one moment that I wouldn't have been interested in you if this whole soul mate thing didn't exist."

Kurt's blush did not diminish but he lifted his head to look at Blaine. His lips were quirked up.

"I think I'm going to like how well you compliment me," he said, "but we seriously need to work on your hair."

Things were easier after that. Kurt suggested a question game and soon they were asking for each other's favorite things and telling funny stories that sprung from those questions. Blaine loved every moment of it.

It wasn't until they realized that it was getting dark out that they got up from their table and got rid of their trash.

"Should I drive you back to McKinley?" Kurt asked.

Blaine had forgotten about the car issue. "Um…so, in all the excitement I forgot Wes drove me."

Kurt began to laugh. "Oh, you would. I could take you back to school, then? I'd have to tell my dad, I told him I'll try to come home for dinner, but he'll understand."

"No, no, it's two hours away. I can catch a bus or something."

Kurt fixed him with a glare before pulling out his phone.

"Hey, dad, I'm going to be a few more hours. I'm going to drive Blaine to Dalton. His friend drove him and he forgot he didn't have a way home."

Kurt listened to his dad say something on the phone.

"I know it is, dad, but I can't just…"

"He's my soul mate, dad."

Blaine tried to catch his attention to tell him there were other options.

"Ugh, fine."

Kurt dropped his phone on his lap.

"My dad invited you to dinner," Kurt said, "it's Friday night and we have family dinner on Fridays. He also said you could stay the night. He doesn't want me driving two hours there and two hours back at night and he doesn't want you to ask a friend to come get you."

Kurt looked awkward as he said everything, but Blaine couldn't help but smile because he knew that Kurt was happy his father wanted to include Blaine in something as important as family dinner and because if Blaine was going to be honest he had been dreading the moment he'd have to be away from Kurt.

"Dinner sounds wonderful," he said and then added, "I told you I wanted to meet your dad."

* * *

Kurt found that he really liked Blaine. He wasn't just attracted to him or even just flattered that Blaine seemed to be in awe of him. He did, genuinely like Blaine for everything that he was from the moment they met. Kurt was even beginning to think that maybe there was something to the whole soul mate thing because if ever there was someone that was perfect for him, Blaine was it.

When they got to his house, Kurt parked in his usual spot but didn't get out of the car at once.

"He's going to try to be intimidating, I think," he told Blaine, "but he's really harmless so don't be bothered by it. Also, don't pass him the salt. He'll try to ask you but just don't do it, and…"

Blaine reached over to grab his hands. "Kurt, it'll be fine."

Kurt nodded and he let himself smile a little. He really couldn't stop. Rachel had told him it'd be like this, the one time he asked. She'd told him how it just took over you and changed absolutely everything. Kurt hadn't believed Rachel, not really, because Rachel was a drama queen and she embellished on just about everything.

They got out of the car and Kurt was glad to have Blaine's hand back in his as they headed towards the house. The porch light was on, probably in expectation of them, and Kurt had to pause at the door. He turned to give Blaine another warning, but Blaine squeezed his hand.

Kurt opened the door which was for once unlocked and let Blaine enter first. He followed, closing and locking the door behind him.

Their new house was still something Kurt was getting used to. It was newer than the one he and his dad had lived in for years, and it was also much bigger though Kurt still mourned his basement room. He had a room on the second floor now which was spacious enough but still hadn't fit all of his old stuff. Still, Kurt had loved the time he spent decorating it.

Voices came from the kitchen and Kurt almost groaned when he realized that Finn had brought Rachel. It was probably at her insistence and everyone knew Finn couldn't say no to Rachel.

"Rachel's here," he muttered to Blaine, "I apologize in advance for anything she might say."

"Short girl from glee?" He asked.

Kurt glanced at him, "you're hobbit sized too, you know."

He didn't know when during their coffee date they'd gone from awkward to friendly teasing, but he was glad it'd happened. Things were easy with Blaine like they hadn't been with anyone before. Kurt had a hard time making friends, and that had always been the case.

He was the weird kid that didn't like getting his clothes dirty and that had always been more interested in having tea parties than playing soccer or tag. Then, other kids had started to realize that he had a boy's name on his hand and suddenly he wasn't just odd, he was also gay. He was a "fag" or a "fairy" even if he hardly understood the terms or even knew what it meant.

Glee club had been the first time he really made any friends and even then it'd still been hard for him because none of them really understood him. Mercedes had tried, and Tina was always fun to shop with. But those relationships had grown over time, they hadn't just happened.

Maybe there was something to the whole soul mate thing. He was thinking about Blaine's friends. Maybe it wasn't supposed to be romantic. Maybe your soul mate could be your best friend. It could mean that that person was supposed to just understand you and just know you in ways other people couldn't. And the romantic side to it was not just because it was expected. Why wouldn't you fall for the one person that could listen to you and not only really listen but really understand?

They walked in the direction of the kitchen still holding hands. Kurt still marveled at how much he genuinely liked holding hands with Blaine.

"Dad, I'm home," he called out.

"Kitchen, kiddo."

They were all there. Carole kneeling by the oven to peak at whatever she was making, Rachel fixing up a salad, Finn texting away probably at Puck, and his dad seated on a stool with one of his car magazines.

"So um, this is Blaine," Kurt said.

Carole was the first to react. She closed the oven door and stood up. She hugged Kurt first and then Blaine.

"Congratulations to you both," she said and in a whisper to Kurt, "he looks like a good one."

Finn lifted his head long enough say, "hey, dude."

Rachel waved enthusiastically, but luckily didn't speak.

Kurt waited for his father to speak. His opinion mattered more than anyone else's in the room.

"You don't have to impress me, kid," Burt said, "I'm not the one you need to woo. That's Kurt. But, I want you to respect him, listen to him, and I also want you to take care of him and let him take care of you."

Blaine nodded. "I will, Mr. Hummel, I've been…I've been looking for Kurt forever and I won't ever do anything to jeopardize us. I don't love him yet, but I will."

Kurt squeezed his hand and beamed at him. Blaine was absolutely perfect.

His father grunted and nodded in approval.

They stood awkwardly in the entrance to the kitchen for a while. Kurt cleared his throat. "I'm going to show Blaine my room."

"Door open," Burt said.

Kurt snorted, "I've barely known him twenty four hours."

Blaine followed Kurt without a word.

"See, not too bad," Blaine said a while later, when they had gotten up the stairs. Kurt opened his door.

His room was tidy and clean because he hated to have something out of place. His father often told the story of how he'd gotten Kurt tested for OCD when he was younger but he'd been told that Kurt was just a tidy kid. After all, he'd managed to live with Finn for those few months and not killed him for every article of clothing that he threw on the floor, not always just on his side of the room.

"It's nice," Blaine said, "very you. You're a little obsessive with the skin care though, aren't you?"

Kurt hit his shoulder. "If I went to your room, would I find a bunch of gel on every surface?"

"My hair needs it. It's horrible without it."

"I doubt that. Come on, you can sit."

Blaine sat down at the edge of Kurt's bed and continued to look around the room. Kurt in the meanwhile watched Blaine. He'd been doing that a lot – all day really – and he still couldn't get over that he was destined to be forever with such a good looking boy.

"They probably think I'm up here defiling you," Blaine said after a while.

"I don't know," Kurt said, "They know how I feel about jumping into it."

Blaine nodded. "Isn't it different though, than what you expected?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said you didn't really believe in the whole soul mate thing, right? So, once you met me – once you knew who I was it was different, right?"

Kurt nodded slowly. He hadn't expected the intensity that came from it, the need to be around Blaine.

"See that's the thing. You told them before meeting me that you would never be a certain way, but aren't you a little changed by it all?"

Kurt had sat next to Blaine and he dropped his head on Blaine's shoulder. "So, are you saying that you want to just throw me on my own bed right now and – what did you say – defile me?"

Blaine laughed and shook his head. "No. I just think that there's a kind of electricity between us and that some people can't handle it and they just go for it – maybe they've been tired of waiting or something and it's not that far fetched that the physical parts might be just rushed into."

Kurt thought that Blaine had a good point. He lifted his head from Blaine's shoulder. "I get it," he said, "but we're not like that and I would hope that my family would know I'd have the restraint."

For years Kurt hadn't understood why couples were touching all the time, but ever since meeting Blaine he was getting it. It was addicting, if that were possible. He wanted to be as close to Blaine as he could and the best thing about it was how comfortable he was doing so. It had been one of his worries for a long time, to not be able to really connect with someone with those small simply touches.

Kurt wasn't used to being tactile. He hugged his father and sometimes Carole. Mercedes was usually the one to pull him into a hug or link their arms together. Rachel was probably the only other person that he made contact with and only when it was required. But holding hands and leaning against someone else just because, Kurt wasn't used to that.

Blaine wrapped an arm around his shoulders and Kurt let himself just burrow into Blaine's side.

"This is probably as far as you'll get at your attempts at defiling me, Mr. Anderson."

Kurt felt Blaine chuckle and he was surprised when Blaine kissed his forehead. "I think I am perfectly okay with that."

* * *

Dinner with Kurt's family turned out to not be as awkward as Kurt had been painting it to be. Finn and Rachel sat on one side of the table and Kurt and Blaine on the other while Kurt's parents were opposite each other at either end.

He and Kurt had set the table while Finn and Rachel brought out the food from the kitchen. Carole had made something that smelled delicious and there was a bowl of mashed potatoes and salad as well.

"It's chicken," Kurt informed him, "with spinach and cheese. Rachel isn't going to have any, she's vegetarian, but she usually brings her own dinner anyway. Sometimes she forces the rest of us to eat like her but luckily I think her being here tonight was last minute."

Blaine nodded slowly. He spotted Rachel warming something up in the microwave while Carole was bringing in a pitcher of lemonade.

"We also have orange juice, water, and milk in the fridge," she said to Blaine.

"Thank you. This is fine."

The food was delicious, and Kurt's family after a few minutes of awkwardness at the beginning were all actually really nice and likable. The atmosphere around the table was not something Blaine had ever experienced at his own house and it was amazing to just see how they all worked together, as if they just fit effortlessly. Even Rachel had a part in this family. It made him happy to know that one day, he'd be as comfortable around them as she was.

"Tell us a little about yourself, Blaine," Carole said, "what do your parents do?"

"My dad's a lawyer," he said, "he's actually a partner at a firm in Columbus. My mom's an interior decorator. She has her own business. They're both pretty busy. My brother Cooper likes to tell people he raised me."

It wasn't even much of a joke because of how true it was. Cooper was six years older than him, but between he and their maid, Rita, Blaine had been raised. Cooper had never trusted their father with Blaine after the whole name incident when Blaine was six. Blaine's mother had always been too busy for either of her children except for rare days when she'd stay home and pretend that everything was normal.

"My parents weren't too happy that I had a boy's name on my hand," Blaine added because he might as well get that out there too. "Well, I don't know how my mom felt about it. She's never said one way or the other, but my dad didn't take it well at all."

Mr. Hummel stared at him, and Blaine tried not to catch his eye. He probably knew what his father had tried to do. Carole might have understood it too. Blaine was glad neither actually brought it up.

"And you have just the one brother," Carole said.

Blaine nodded. "Yup, just me and Coop."

After that, they only asked a few more questions. Did he do well in school? Yes. Was he thinking about what he might do with himself? Not really.

Eventually Kurt put a stop to it, muttering something about Blaine not eating because he was talking so much and then everyone was eating and talking but it was calmer somehow.

"Well," Rachel said, "I didn't want to bring this up earlier, but I think it's an important thing to mention."

Kurt groaned next to him. "What Rachel?"

"I just want to point out that the two of you are on opposing teams for Sectionals and that I for one do not want this to mean you'll be sharing secrets about set lists and stuff."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "We don't have a set list," he said.

Rachel made a gasping noise. "This is exactly what I'm talking about."

Blaine found Rachel hilarious. He had met never anyone that was so fully committed to something as silly as a club. Wes could have rivaled her, but his crazy was more due to a need to be in constant contact with his gavel and use it as a source of his power over everyone else.

"Rachel, the Warblers have also yet to finalize their set list. Now that we're on equal standing I can assure you that Kurt and I have more important things to talk about than this competition and I'm sure that he'll be happy for me if my team is the one to win and that I will be happy for him if yours does."

The smile that Kurt gave him, then, was one of utmost wonder. "Thank you," he muttered, but in the next minute he was glaring at Rachel again.

Rachel for her part, stared at Blaine as if she didn't know just what to make of him. It was as if she had never considered that someone wouldn't put glee at as important level as she did.

When dinner was over, Blaine helped Kurt pick up the dishes even though he'd protested that he was a guest. Carole had tried to make him sit down as well, but Blaine had insisted. They left them in water in the sink.

"It's Finn's turn to wash them," he told Blaine, which means he won't do it until the last possible minute, or until after Rachel leaves."

Finn and Rachel had already left the table when they got back and Carole was just finishing putting everything back to where it belonged.

"We're going to go back upstairs," Kurt said as if he needed to announce it to them. Carole barely gave a response and Burt grunted as if he expected nothing less on his way to the living room.

Kurt sat down at the head of his bed this time and motioned for Blaine to sit next to him.

"That went better than I thought it would," Kurt said, "and they like you. Which was a given because who wouldn't, but I was a little worried my dad might try to scare you off or something."

Blaine liked rambly Kurt. He liked this Kurt who had gotten comfortable in his own room and was letting Blaine in slowly.

"I liked them too," he said, "I don't think I've had a proper family dinner with my own family since…well, I don't think I can remember the last one."

Kurt got strangely serious then. "What happened to you?" He asked, "when you said your father didn't like that you had my name, what did he do?"

Blaine hadn't spoken to anyone else about the entire thing other than Cooper. He'd come closer tonight to letting someone else know about it than ever before. But he knew if he had to tell someone, it was going to have to be Kurt.

"When I turned five the first letters started appearing. It didn't happen all at once. First there was a K and then one day I saw the E in your last name and all the others started to fill in. My mom and I had a game, guessing at your name. She was a bit of a romantic and she just gave me this amazing image of what my soul mate would be like. But then it turned out that it wasn't a girl's name. It was yours. A boy."

It was easy to tell Kurt this. Hard because of what he was talking about, but easy because it was Kurt and Kurt wouldn't judge him or pity him or any of those things that one might expect from other people.

"What did your mom say?" Kurt asked.

Blaine could remember it all perfectly. He'd been so excited because there was finally a whole name there. All the letters had filled in. He had a soul mate! Cooper had seen it first, but that was only because Blaine ran into Cooper when he left his room, excited to share his news.

His parents had been in the kitchen. Mom waiting for coffee with her usual to go cup and his dad on the phone while he ate a croissant. He'd burst into the room with Cooper at his heels.

"I have a name! I have a name!"

Dad had completely ignored him, but his mom had turned to look at him and Blaine had shown up.

She didn't read it aloud, but she'd smiled tightly at him and pet his head. "Go get breakfast."

"I think she knew my father wasn't going to like it," Blaine told Kurt, "but for her, for someone that believed in this whole thing so much and who made the whole soul mate thing seem like the most amazing thing in the world, I think she understood that there was no changing it and that this was who I would be and that fate had already predetermined that."

Blaine saw, more than felt his hands shake and he was grateful when Kurt reached over and grabbed them.

"Come here," Kurt said. He let go of Blaine's hands, but only to wrap his arms around Blaine.

Blaine's head was on Kurt's collarbone, and Kurt's arms cradled him against his side. One of Blaine's hand had gone to rest over Kurt's heart and he felt how fast Kurt's heart was beating. He did that.

"My dad found out a few days later. He either saw my hand or mom finally told him – she hated keeping anything from him – and from then on he started acting strange around me. Suddenly he wasn't the dad that would pick me up and spin me around in circles, or want to teach me to play sports on the few free days he had. But he was still that way with Cooper and at the age of five, I thought I did something wrong. Cooper told me not to worry about it. I think he saw it coming."

"Saw what coming?"

Kurt's hands ran down Blaine's back, soothingly.

"A couple of months after I turned six, he came home very happy. He and my mom were talking in their room for a while and then during dinner he told me and Cooper. He said he knew how to fix me, how he was going to fix my abnormality."

Kurt gasped and his hold tightened. "He didn't," Kurt whispered. "No. No. Oh, Blaine."

"He tried," Blaine said. "Cooper didn't explain it to me until a few years later, but he had all the intention of taking me and having your name removed somehow. Cooper hid me and he didn't let dad get to me and I think maybe mom helped him – I want to believe she did – but I haven't spoken to them since then, not really. Not about this and certainly not about anything that matters."

"I'm so glad for your brother. So glad. I can't stand the thought that I could have lost you like that," Kurt muttered. "I want to meet him."

"He probably wants to meet you too," Blaine said, "he's the only important person in my life, other than you. I think maybe you'll like him."


	4. Part Four

Kurt helped to set up Blaine on the pull out couch which had been a recent addition to their living room once Rachel started sleeping over. Carole didn't like her upstairs when she slept over, even if she was in Kurt's room. But they all knew that she sneaked upstairs to Finn's room for a few hours anyway. Kurt had never thought that he'd ever have reason to have someone else use it.

His dad and Carole had already gone upstairs and he could hear the tv from their room even down in the living room. Rachel had gone home, expected there by midnight, and Finn was already back in his bedroom probably playing some sort of video game.

"There you go," he said, "all set."

Blaine who was wearing a spare set of Kurt's pajamas grinned at him. "I could have done it myself, but thanks."

"I wanted to," Kurt said and sat down.

Blaine joined him a second later.

A part of him wanted to just stay up all night and continue talking. He wanted to hear everything about Blaine from the most minuscule detail of his childhood to what his dreams and aspirations were. They were getting somewhere in getting to know each other and Kurt was enjoying everything immensely.

He now knew more about Blaine than he probably did about Finn or Rachel and it was the best feeling in the world. He knew that Blaine didn't like thunder, but he liked going out and taking walks just after it rained because everything was fresh and dewy. He knew that Blaine had a strong dislike for raisins because Cooper had once told him they were mouse droppings and then thrown some at him and they'd gotten caught in his hair. Kurt knew that Blaine had sensitive eyes and had to squint in bright lights. And there were tons of other things that were so inconsequentially important.

"A part of me wants to just stay down here with you tonight," he admitted to Blaine, "but I don't think my dad would allow it. He's probably upstairs waiting to hear me come to my room."

Their hands had come together again without either noticing and Kurt was already starting to realize that this was going to be a thing between them, the hand holding. It was just such a natural thing to reach out and take Blaine's hand, to cherish that his name was still there when it easily could have been taken away from him.

"I should head up," he said.

Blaine nodded. "I'll be right here in the morning."

Kurt leaned over to hug Blaine while they still sat there. He stayed in Blaine's arms for longer than was probably required and when he pulled back he leaned in again instead and pressed a small gentle kiss to the corner of Blaine's mouth. Then, he got up and headed upstairs.

Back in his room, Kurt was sure that he wasn't just going to fall asleep. He was restless. Knowing that Blaine was just down the stairs was driving him mad.

Someone knocked on his door.

"Come in."

Finn peaked his head in first and then entered the room, leaving the door slightly open.

"Hey," Kurt said, "what's up?"

He and Finn had really grown closer together in the past year or so. Before that they'd been acquaintances at best and Finn had been the only football player to actually try and stop the others from hurting him, although he did sometimes partake in the dumpster throws. Kurt could even imagine that he could have had a crush on Finn if he didn't know that he was going to end up with Blaine anyway.

"I just…I wanted to make sure you were okay. It's kind of overwhelming at first and I know for me it was hard to come to terms with it."

Kurt motioned for Finn to come closer. "I think I'm half in love with him already," he said, "which is not something I expected, but…gosh, I don't think I could ever see my life without him now."

Finn smiled in his dopey way. "It's how it's supposed to be," Finn said. Then he looked thoughtful for a moment, "what about your plans though…New York. Broadway."

Kurt knew why Finn was asking and it wasn't about him. It was about Rachel. Kurt had already told Finn what he thought about Rachel's need for Finn to go with her to New York, but it was different now that he really knew the kind of pain that he himself would face if he and Blaine were to be separated like that.

"She will never be happy if she doesn't at least try," Kurt said, "but she also won't be happy if she has to be without you to do that. I know you want to leave Lima too, so why are you fighting her on this?"

Finn shrugged. "I don't know, man, I'm not going to do something as amazing as she is. I won't get into those schools and isn't it worth it to do the long distance and know that we'll be together at some point again?"

"It's something you have to decide with her, Finn."

Finn nodded and he got up from where he'd perched himself on Kurt's bed. "I want to say I'm happy for you, though," Finn said, "you deserved to meet him finally and he's really kinda awesome."

Kurt chuckled, "thanks Finn."

Kurt hadn't thought about his future plans. He still had a whole year to figure things out though New York had always been one of the things he wanted for sure, but now it wasn't just about what he wanted. It was about Blaine too and what he wanted was going to matter too.

He didn't know how long he lay in bed, restless and far too awake, but after it'd been at least a couple of hours he sat up and considered for a moment just going to see if Blaine had fallen asleep.

It took him another fifteen minutes to get out of bed and walk to his door. There was still a small tiny grain of doubt left in his mind about the entire thing. He couldn't stop thinking about his dad and Carole and how that had all just worked out. What if the same happened to him and Blaine? Or what if what happened to Mr. Shue did?

He went down the stairs as quietly as he could and then he approached the pull out. Blaine slept facing the right, legs curled up a bit and a hand under his face. His curls were free from the confines of gel and they weren't too unruly, not like Blaine had said they were.

"Can't sleep, kid?"

Kurt jumped.

His dad grinned and dropped a hand to his shoulder. "Come on. Warm milk?"

They silently walked to the kitchen and turned on the light. Kurt fetched the milk while his dad got the cups. Back after his mother died this was one of the few things that could Kurt to get to sleep and then later it was just something they did together when they both couldn't sleep. Kurt had gotten Finn to start drinking milk with him too some nights, but Finn had always used it as a way to rant about Rachel than anything else.

"I like him," Burt said, "Blaine Anderson."

"Me too."

Burt grinned at him. "I know."

"I didn't think it's be this intense, knowing him," Kurt said while his dad poured the milk, "and I want everything with him and I never thought it'd be like this, but dad I don't understand how it can last. Not when I know that you and Carole weren't…you weren't soul mates before you met."

They put the milk in the microwave and Kurt waited until it was at 1, to press stop so it wouldn't make a noise and wake Blaine.

"Kid, you know that's different and if your mom didn't get sick she'd still be here with us. You get one soul mate, Kurt, one person that matches your soul perfectly. And with that person everything will be easy and perfect and just work. But, when something happens to your other half it's horrible and painful and it tears you apart. It changes you. Your mother's death changed me drastically and what happened to Finn's dad, it changed Carole too. And the only way that you can get another soul mate is if you are so damaged by the first, if you are so brokenhearted that your very soul has changed.

"Carole and I, we're compatible because we've suffered, because we've known the greatest love and we lost it. But we're only compatible so far, Kurt, and there are many things that Carole will never understand about me that your mother did and it's the same for her and Christopher. But what makes it work is that we both know and accept it. You can't use me as a model, kid, because it's not supposed to end up like this. You and Blaine…what you have, that's the real thing. And this isn't putting down what Carole and I are, because I do love her, but you have to understand that it's different and you have to stop worrying about that."

Kurt drank his milk slowly. He'd worried about this too much, he knew, and it was probably because of how his dad had been after his mom's death.

"There is a risk to everything, Kurt, but that's life and you can't predict what will happen tomorrow but that boy out there cares about you and he'll do everything in his power to make you happy and that's all that matters in the end."

His dad got up, drinking his milk quickly. He set the glass in the sink and smiled at Kurt, "I know you won't do anything."

Kurt didn't even get to respond before his dad was walking out of the kitchen towards the stairs.

He stayed in the kitchen until he'd finished off his milk, and then he took a deep breath before he walked out to the living room. Blaine was still fast asleep, though he'd moved a bit. He was towards the middle of the small bed, the covers half on him. Kurt hesitated for a moment before he slowly peeled them back and crawled in next to him.

Blaine groaned as if he had felt the movement and then when Kurt settled down next to him, he seemed to move closer, as if realizing that Kurt was there. Kurt inched slowly closer until his head was right next to Blaine's and he could feel the even breaths on his face.

Blaine looked younger in his sleep, still as beautiful and handsome but somehow happier and young.

"I could love you," Kurt whispered, "god, but I could."

"Kurt?"

His voice was groggy and low, but it was also the best thing that Kurt had ever heard.

Blaine cracked open one eye. "Whatcha doing down here?"

"Sleeping," Kurt replied, "with permission and everything. I can't…I couldn't sleep and I think I just can't stand to not be near you."

Blaine made a noise that sounded like a giggle and then he grunted as he moved into a better position before he opened his arms. "Well, come here."

It took them a few tries to find the perfect position that worked for them, but once they did, Blaine curled into Kurt with his head on Kurt's chest, they both smiled happily, moving their bare feet against each other.

"Wanna do this forever," Blaine mumbled.

"Me too."

Kurt leaned down to kiss Blaine's forehead. He really could see this being a forever type of thing. He could finish doing his nightly skin routine and then get into bed where Blaine would be waiting, curls free of their gel confine, a book held up in one hand, reading to the light of a lamp. They would curl up naturally and fall asleep talking about nothing and everything, and nothing in the outside world would matter as long as they were together.

* * *

The next day, Blaine woke up first and for a split second he didn't know why his bed was moving, or why it felt so warm. He also didn't understand why he felt like he'd just gotten the best sleep of his life, ever. It wasn't until he slowly opened his eyes that it all came back to him and he nuzzled his head under Kurt's and sighed happily. Kurt's arms tightened around him.

He remained where was a while longer, knowing that waking up like this tangled up in each other was not going to be an everyday thing for a few more years at least.

Someone coughed and Blaine froze. Hadn't Kurt gone up to his room last night? Why was he next to Blaine? Not that Blaine was complaining.

"Morning," Burt Hummel said, "he still out?"

Blaine nodded. "I…nothing happened last night, I'm sorry if this is…"

Burt raised his hand to stop him, "it's alright, Kurt and I had a talk last night and I told him it was okay. Now, don't go waking him, he was up pretty late and he'll be annoyed if he doesn't get his eight hours."

"Oh," Blaine said lamely.

Burt grinned. "I'm making breakfast. Are you alright with pancakes?"

"Can I help…"

Burt shook his head, "he has a good grip, and I think you know you'd rather be there than in the kitchen."

Blaine probably lay there, gaping, for a while after Burt had gone into the kitchen. Kurt definitely had the best father ever. Burt was the kind of father that Blaine had always wanted his to be.

They didn't get out of the bed until Burt called them to breakfast and Kurt woke from the noise, hiding his face into Blaine's neck for a moment before he began to pull back.

"Good morning," he said, sitting up and stretching.

"Your dad's making pancakes."

Kurt rubbed at his eyes. "He does so on Saturday mornings," Kurt responded.

Kurt excused himself to his room after that and told Blaine that he'd find clothes for him after he was presentable. Blaine tried to tell him that there was no need and that he looked beautiful just woken and rumpled from sleep, but Kurt had a look in eyes that told Blaine that no matter what he said, it was Kurt's opinion of himself that would matter at that moment.

So, Blaine padded into the kitchen and found Burt finishing the last of the pancakes.

"You can get out strawberries and syrup from the fridge, Blaine," he said, "and anything else you'd like."

The strawberries were easy to find, but the syrup took a while longer and then he poured himself a glass of milk. Milk was the starting point of his day, followed by a cup of coffee and whatever was served that morning at Dalton if he didn't have time to walk to the Starbucks and get something there.

"Finn and Carole should be down in a bit, but Kurt will probably take a while longer. You guys have anything planned for today?"

Blaine hadn't even been thinking about where to go on from there, because suddenly he was remembering that he'd had things to do the day before and that he had things to do now.

"Shit," he said and then ran towards the living room. He heard Burt laugh.

He found his phone easily enough and there were already a few texts.

Wes and David collectively sent him winks and congrats texts, as had other warblers. But the only important one was from Cooper and Blaine couldn't believe he'd forgotten.

_'Heading your way now. If you can swing it bring your Kurt along, make it a double date or something.'_

Blaine smiled a little. Of course his brother had thought everything through. Still, he pressed the call button.

"Blainers!"

"Hey, Coop," Blaine said, "where are you?"

He sat down on one of the couches and crossed his legs.

"At a dinner in Westerville preparing to head into the lion's den for brunch – mom insisted. I don't think Emma realizes how bad this is going to go."

Blaine rolled his eyes, "I won't be there, and if you don't bring me up it'll go swimmingly."

Cooper laughed. "You being there might actually be a good idea…get them off of Emma and me."

"Can't do that, even if I wanted to. I'm not in Westerville."

At that Cooper really laughed. Blaine could almost picture him sitting in a booth somewhere his head thrown back his soul mate confused and endeared at the same time.

"Oh, my little brother," Cooper said, "so, still with Kurt then? How are his parents taking that?"

"Well, his dad is making us pancakes right now and his step mom's asleep. Kurt's been in the bathroom for the past twenty minutes and according to his dad won't come out for another half hour, and they let us share a bed last night. And Cooper, they're amazing. All of them, his entire family."

"I'm glad. God, Blaine you deserved that."

Blaine shook his head as if Cooper could see him, "we got each other, Coop. But enough about that – how do you feel about dinner in Lima?"

"Well, we hadn't picked a place anyway – it was probably going to end up being TGI Friday's or something – so, whatever."

Blaine loved how laid back his brother was. He'd always sort of been like that, going with the flow of life and reacting accordingly.

"Well, I don't have my car and I don't want to have Kurt drive us out there and then have to drive back those two hours and his dad would probably appreciate if he didn't either. So, want to just have an early dinner. I'll ask Kurt for a good place and text you the address."

In the background of the phone call, Blaine could hear noises that indicated the restaurant atmosphere, but there was also a voice he could hardly make out that was probably Emma.

"Sounds good."

"Alright, see you later."

"Love ya."

"Love you too."

Blaine hung up the phone and returned to the kitchen. Finn had come down at some point and was setting out plates on the table.

"Hey, man, sleep well?"

Blaine nodded. "Best sleep I've ever gotten."

Kurt didn't join them for another fifteen minutes by which time Finn was almost done with his portion of the pancakes and was still shoving toast into his mouth. Blaine didn't hear him come in at first, but then he looked up and he was stunned yet again by how beautiful Kurt was, and how he managed to look hot and adorable all at the same time. And there he was, in Kurt's pajamas the pant legs rolled up because they were too long and the plain white shirt both loose and tight on him in places, his hair a mess of curls that were probably more messed up by sleep.

* * *

Breadstix was usually a place Kurt tried to avoid unless he really couldn't. He'd gone there with Finn and Rachel occasionally, and sometimes with Mercedes. A few times he and his dad had gone back when it was just the two of them and more recently with Carole and Finn as well.

Breadstix was one of the few date places in Lima. It was mostly made up of couples with too much pda and not even the quality of the food could make up for that. Kurt had hated going and seeing all the happy couples around him, and now that he had Blaine he wasn't entirely sure if that would change or not.

They spent a lot of the time before lunch in his bedroom, and then they wandered out back to the living room to watch tv. Being with Blaine was almost like being on his own, except that it was better and it meant not being lonely. But Kurt was becoming so comfortable with Blaine that he knew he could do anything and be anything without worrying about what Blaine might think. Other than his father, Kurt had never had anyone that he had felt that way about.

After the conversation with his dad it was getting easier to just go with it and let nature lead him. It was easy to relax into Blaine's shoulder and curl up closer to him without giving it another thought.

"What's your brother like?"

They were watching The Sound of Music which despite its length had been chosen because Blaine had been making fun of Kurt for his name.

"Well, he's taller than me and he will never stop making fun of me for that. He's majoring in Sociology which pissed off my dad, but Coop's fascinated by all that sorta thing. Um, he's kind of a goof ball in all the best ways and sometimes I think I'm the older one. He's also the most supportive person I know, and he is – was – the first person I would call for any reason."

"Was?"

Blaine smirked at him and raised an eyebrow. "I've found you, now, Kurt. He'll be second on my call list from now on. Not only because he'll probably call Emma before me and serves him right, but because logically and practically if I needed something desperately you are closer to me and wouldn't you want to be informed of anything anyway?"

Kurt nodded. Blaine would probably be the first person he called too.

They ate lunch alone in the kitchen because his dad and Finn had gone to the shop to finally work on Finn's car and Carole had a shift at the hospital. Kurt made them sandwiches because he didn't think he could properly concentrate on making anything else.

"I'm really glad I'm not meeting Emma on my own," Blaine told Kurt, "I mean, I want to meet her and she's probably great but I just knew I was going to be this third wheel the entire night. But now I have you and we Anderson brothers can both be on dates."

They got to Breadstix before Cooper and Emma a few hours later, and sat in the car for a few minutes longer before they got out and holding hands walked to the restaurant's front door. Blaine opened it for Kurt.

"Table for four," Kurt told an older waitress, "we're waiting on two more people."

"Sure thing," she said and smiled, leading them to a booth.

Kurt and Blaine sat down next to each other, hands still clasped, leaving their menus un open in front of them. Kurt had never thought that he would ever have a date to bring to Breadtix. He's resigned himself long ago that it wouldn't happen and that he'd find his mate once he left Lima.

"When am I going to see you after today?" Blaine asked suddenly, "I mean, we live two hours apart and that's not a drive either of us should be making every day even though I'm not going to be able to stand being apart from you – I mean, with school and glee and I don't even know what else…"

Kurt hadn't thought about it. It had only just been twenty four hours with Blaine and he hadn't considered what would happen after Blaine went back to Dalton. Of course they could visit, and his dad could be convinced into letting Blaine stay over on weekends, but would that be enough for them? Would phone calls and texts and Skype be enough until summer when they were free to spend more time together without worries for their responsibilities?

"I don't know," Kurt said, "but, we'll figure something out and make it work. We'll talk every day and plan dates, and dad probably wouldn't be opposed to you staying with us on the weekends. I could come visit you sometimes too after school. I'm never saying goodbye to you, Blaine Anderson."

Blaine's face after he said that was the most beautiful Kurt had seen it, and he probably liked every face that Blaine had been making at him since they met. It was joy and happiness and something that Kurt didn't want to label as love because they couldn't be in love yet.

"Can I…" Blaine began, bit his lip and tried to look away from Kurt.

"Yes," Kurt breathed.

Blaine leaned towards him, his face coming closer, close enough that Kurt could feel his breath hit his cheek. But the kiss didn't happen. A loud voice called out, "Little Bro!" and Blaine almost fell off his seat, scrambling back.

"Cooper," Blaine said and groaned. His cheeks were pink and he was avoiding Kurt's gaze.

"It's okay," Kurt said and while Cooper and Emma approached he leaned over to kiss Blaine on the cheek.

Blaine stood up when his brother arrived and was pulled into a hug. They did look a lot alike. Cooper was taller than Blaine and he didn't seem to have inherited the mop of curls that Blaine had, or the hazel eyes, but he was still rather handsome. His soul mate, Emma, was about Blaine's height, but that was probably because she wore heels. She had a pretty smile, dark brown hair, and a taste for fashion. Kurt decided that he was going to like both of them.

"This is my brother, Em, Blaine. Blaine, Emma," Cooper said and then he turned to Kurt who had remained seated, "and you must be Kurt."

Kurt nodded. "Yes, that's me."

He shook Cooper's hand and smiled at Emma who glanced in his direction while still talking to Blaine.

They all sat down and Cooper immediately opened his menu.

"The last thing I ate was brunch at home and it was horrible," he announced to the table, "I am never going back to that house again. We're never going back there again."

Emma laid a hand on Cooper's arm and nodded.

Blaine next to him sighed. "What happened?"

"Well, they brought your name up," Cooper said, "father lamented that you would never bring a nice girl home. I told them you didn't have to and that you already found your mate. Mom was kind of quiet after that. They're all kinds of messed up. He was completely disrespectful to Emma and it just went horribly. But enough about that."

Cooper was louder than Blaine, much more outgoing and a little bit crazy, but he was also pretty amazing and from the way that Emma was looking at him, it was clear that she thought so too.

By the time their food came, Cooper had started telling stories about Blaine as a child and Kurt was loving every moment of it. Hearing about Blaine coloring on Cooper's school books, or Cooper losing Blaine in their house once while playing hide and seek because he'd forgotten they were playing and Blaine had fallen asleep waiting to be found, or even the time that Blaine refused to put on clothes and ran into the living room where Cooper and his friends had been working on a project for school and gotten an eyeful of naked toddler Blaine.

"What about Cooper?" Emma chimed in, "anything good on him?"

Blaine would have rubbed his hands together if he hadn't been holding Kurt's wit one. "Well…"

He, Cooper, and Emma exchanged numbers while they waited for the check which Cooper offered to pay.

"We have to do this again," Emma said, "it was lovely meeting you Blaine, and Kurt. We're going to be family someday, so it's only right."

"Definitely," Kurt said.

Cooper paid for their food and then they all slowly got up. Kurt didn't want the night to end. He didn't want to see Blaine get into Cooper's car and drive off. Luckily Cooper seemed to get that they needed to have a moment alone because he and Emma rushed outside and got into the car and Kurt and Blaine walked slowly to Kurt's car to get Blaine's things.

Blaine closed the door to the passenger's side and leaned against it. Kurt dropped his hands to Blaine's waist and Blaine wrapped his own arms around Kurt.

"I'm going to miss you," Blaine said, "it's silly, I know, but I don't know how I'm going to handle being without you even if it for a few days."

Kurt laughed. "I know. I didn't think it'd be this way. God."

They stood in their embrace for a little while until Kurt pulled back. "I want to try something," he said.

Blaine nodded, anticipation bright in his eyes as Kurt inched forward. They'd been interrupted before, but Kurt would not let Blaine leave without this, not when they didn't know for sure if they'd see each other before the next weekend.

When their lips met it wasn't fireworks, it wasn't some crazy insane moment of absolutely passion but there was a spark, a small tiny tingling feeling that rushed from the place where their lips met down to their toes. It was a feeling of belonging and warmth. It was home.

Their lips moved gently against each other instinctively with the tiniest bit of hesitancy of a first kiss.

"Wow," Blaine breathed when they pulled apart.

"Yeah," Kurt responded. He leaned his forehead against Blaine's. "Call me when you get there?"

"Okay."

"You should get going, don't want to keep them waiting."

Blaine nodded but made no move to leave. Instead his hands went up to hold his face and then they were kissing again. It was more insistent this time, harder. Blaine's tongue flicked at his lips and Kurt gasped, opening his lips and letting out a small moaning noise when it began to explore his mouth. It was only when they needed air that Blaine pulled back.

"Now, I should go."

Kurt laughed and watched him go. Blaine turned and looked at him one last time, waved, and then got into Cooper's car. Kurt had no doubt that he'd be teased all the way to Dalton.

He stood in the parking lot of Breadstix long after Cooper's car was off, and he smiled to himself, one hand lifted to touch his lips. He'd never put too much faith to the whole soul mate thing, but there was no denying that what Blaine Anderson did to him had to be something only he could do. Kurt couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life with him.


End file.
